130. - Collection Point® | The Total Digital Asset Management System

2. Division of Zechariah 69
5.1-4: The Sixth Vision
This section is clear and self-contained, despite some repetition in
vv. 3-4.
5.5-11: The Seventh Vision
The opening K2n plus the command to 'lift up your eyes and see' a
new object of attention coming forth seem to confirm that this is to be
regarded as a separate vision. The prophet asks two questions, 'What
is it?' (v. 6) and 'Where are they taking it?' (v. 10). Both are
necessary for the vision to be intelligible. 1
6.1 -8: The Eighth Vision
Commentators have for a long time recognized the similarity between
the first and last visions. 2 Both involve horses of different colours
patrolling the earth; both speak of being at rest, though they use
different words and in a different sense. In both, the form consists of
vision-question-answer-further action in the vision (1.8, 9, 10, llff.;
6.1-3, 4, 5-6, 7-8). There is no doubt that these verses form a distinct
unit. 3
6.9-15: The Report of an Oracle
The difficulties of this passage are well known (see below). 4
Nevertheless, as a unit it has coherence. There is some repetition in
vv. 12-13, 15a (mrr brnfc/DK] nan), and v. 15a is similar to 2.13b,
15b (DD^K/-|'bR ^n^eJ nuns mrr »3 Drum). Verses 9-14 form an
obvious chiasmus (Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, Josiah/crown/priest) as
will be shown below. 5 There is disagreement about the subdivision of
1. Rudolph notes that some commentators (Keil, Nowack, Rothstein and Bic)
regard this section as a continuation of 5.1-4 (Haggai, pp. 118-19). It will be
convenient to present repeated words for 5.1-11 in one table, and it will be easy to
see whether there is any support from our method for this view.
2. See, e.g., C. Jeremias, Die Nachtgesichte, pp. 110-38.
3. The only reasonable variant of this view is to regard v. 15a as the conclusion
to the vision (see below).
4. Petitjean, Les oracles, pp. 268-70.
5. The Meyers' mention this as 'another example of envelope construction'
(Haggai, Zechariah, p. 338). Petersen notes the similar envelope technique in this
section and in 4.6a-10a (Haggai, Zechariah, p. 273). He says here: 'We have already
observed that the author/editor of Zech. 1-8 is an accomplished literary architect'.